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I wish I could think of more names to go with certain dishes...cuz I could do this all day...

This Steak Diane Dish covered a few firsts for me...in fact MANY firsts for me!

1) Cooking a meal while on vacation

2) Cooking a meal in someone else's kitchen (other than my mother's)

3) Using steak I bought from Wal Mart

4) Making Steak Diane

We went on a family vacation to Arizona to visit our friend's Mark and Tim. Now, Tim is an amazing entertainer. They have the perfect home and cook the perfect dishes...so it's a lot to live up to. In fact, I am always trying to get my house as clean and put together as theirs is - and somehow I always fall short.

Be that as it may. It's a nice thing to do, when you go to someone else's house for an extended period of time, to cook a meal for them. This is so they don't have to do all of the cooking for the 42 people that are suddenly living in their house.

I didn't have my big ol' Guy Fieri cookbook with me - so I had to think of something IN the book that I hadn't cooked before - and Steak Diane came to mind. I looked up the recipe on my iPhone and it looked ridiculously easy- in fact, so easy I used my favorite new phrase "This is so easy, an idiot could do this...with their hand tied behind their back!" (I am not sure if I would have felt that way a year ago...)

Now, why did I chose pasta as the side dish? Well...filet mignons (which the Steak Diane is made with) are kinda...well...small. Good, elegant and small. So, I thought a hardy side dish might be a wise idea.

In fact, let me talk a bit about those noodles. I will post the recipe too. I shopped for this recipe at this humongous Wal-Mart in Arizona (just outside of Tucson). This was FAR bigger than our Wal-Marts here in Windsor and Rohnert Park and it had a HUGE grocery store in it. But, it's one of those stores where you wander back and forth and back and forth looking at signs until you find what you need - passing the aisle with the sparkling water about 50 times. During this wandering - I did come across those pre-packaged noodles that you can get in little envelopes. They were 99cents! AWESOME! I could do a side dish for like 2 bucks! But I knew..that homemade noodles would taste better (I mean, the recipe, not the noodles themselves...I am not quite there yet) SO - off I went to get the egg noodles etc.

Then, it was off to get the steak. Yes, we were going to try the Wal-Mart steak. Why not? Rumor had it, it was good. It might be less than steak in other places...And if the entire dinner failed - well we knew where my credit cards were to order pizza...now didn't we?

So, I found it - filet mignons at the Wal Mart just outside of Tucson, AZ. Just over 5 bucks for 2 filets. I bought 6 of 'em. I wish I had taken a picture. They were sealed in these airtight little pockets in like that clamshell packaging that you buy accessories for your iPod in.

Then, it was back to Tim's house to cook. Now, remember I am cooking in someone else's kitchen (and their kitchen is VERY well put together with everything in it's place) for a guy who is great at cooking and entertaining. This could go South VERY quickly. In order to avoid kitchen fires, bad presentation - or worst of all- rubbery meat, I read all of my recipes very, very carefully to ensure the timing of all the dishes would be correct.

I had an hour to reduce beef broth - so I put together the cucumber/tomato thingy and got the ingredients ready for the pasta.

Honestly, once I stepped in to cooking and getting things ready, I was very calm...and happy. I was on vacation and cooking - what could be better? The only time I got nervous was the end - that's where everything could go wrong. The meat could get over cooked, the noodles could become mushy, I could drop the entire plate with the cucumber/tomato thingy all over the floor.

Really, the only thing that happened was that the noodles were cold. I didn't serve them quickly enough or mix the ingredients quickly enough.

As I was getting ready to come to the table, I heard my dad say the steak was a "homerun." By the way, I told everyone they could start without me - he wasn't being rude or anything. I was like "wow." It still shocks the heck out of me when the food that I make tastes good.

In fact, everyone seemed to like the meal. And in the end, Tim told me he was going to use the ENTIRE menu and prepare it for some friends he has coming over in a few weeks. Wow. That was the highest of compliments. Hopefully his noodles will be warmer.

By the way - the Wal-Mart steaks? They were really, really, really good. Yeah. I know!

Directions

Pairs well with: cabernet

Add the beef stock to a saucepan and reduce over medium-high heat to 1/2 cup, about 1 hour.

Sprinkle the steaks on both sides with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and the olive oil. When the butter has melted and the oil shimmers, add the steaks. Brown the steaks on both sides, 3 minutes per side. Transfer the steaks to a plate and set aside, lightly covered with foil.

Add the mushrooms and shallots to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, adding oil if needed. Add the garlic. When the garlic is lightly colored, add the brandy (be careful, it can ignite). Add the wine, mustard, Worcestershire and the reduced beef stock. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes more. Return the steaks to the pan and finish cooking them to the desired temperature, 2 to 4 minutes, depending upon the size of the filets and desired temperature/doneness. For medium-rare, cook to 135 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the sauce to melt.

To serve, place a steak on each plate and pour the sauce over the steak.

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